Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Lower-Income Communities Hit Harder By Premature Colon Cancer Deaths
NPR: Preventable Colon Cancer Deaths Cost The Economy $6.4 Billion
Almost 20 percent of the people in low-income communities who die of colon cancer could have been saved with early screening. And those premature deaths take a toll on communities that can least bear it. Lower-income communities in the United States face $6.4 billion in lost wages and productivity because of premature deaths due to colon cancer, according to researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Shute, 11/13)
The Associated Press: Federal Regulators: Psychiatric Hospital Harming Patients
Federal regulators plan to cut millions in Medicare and Medicaid funding for Washington state’s largest psychiatric hospital after a recent inspection found “multi-system wide failures” have caused serious harm to patients and placed the health and safety of all patients at risk. (Bellisle, 11/13)
Reuters: Involving Residents In Surgery Tied To Slightly Better Outcomes
Having surgeons-in-training participate in operations does not endanger patients, a new analysis of U.S. data concludes. The study, which looked at results from all surgical specialties, found that procedures involving trainees – known as surgical residents – tended to have similar complications and slightly lower mortality rates, compared to when senior surgeons worked alone. (Doyle, 11/13)
NPR: More Women Than Men Are Obese In America, And Gap Is Widening
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has crunched new numbers on America's obesity epidemic. What do they tell us? As a nation, we seem to be stuck. The overall prevalence of obesity in the three-year period ending 2014 was just over 36 percent. This mean that about 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. is obese. (Aubrey, 11/13)
The New York Times: Feeling Woozy? It May Be Cyber Sickness
A peculiar side effect of the 21st century is something called digital motion sickness or cybersickness. Increasingly common, according to medical and media experts, it causes a person to feel woozy, as if on a boat in a churning sea, from viewing moving digital content. (Murphy, 11/14)
Reuters: Diabetes Experts Tell G20 To Tax Sugar To Save Lives And Money
Diabetes experts called on world leaders on Thursday to use sugar taxes to fight obesity, arguing such a move would save lives and slash healthcare budgets. Ahead of a meeting of G20 leaders this weekend, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) wants the dual epidemics of obesity and diabetes to be placed on the global agenda alongside major geopolitical and financial issues. (Hirschler, 11/13)
